New York City Council Set To Implement Innovative Voter Registration Plan

This June, New York City will become the first major metropolis in the
United States to require that high school seniors receive a voter
registration application along with their diplomas on graduation day.

The Young Adult Voter Registration Act, which established the above
requirement, passed with the unanimous support of the New York City
Council in June 2004. The bill was introduced in response to low
voter turnout and low voter registration amongst youth. In 2002,
a little under 25% of all youth ages 18- 25 in New York City were
registered to vote. That meant that 75% of all 18-25 year-olds in New
York City were unable to participate in the electoral process on
Election Day. Even after the 2004 election, despite massive voter
registration drives, over 50% of all youth in New York are still not
registered to vote.

Therefore, instead of continuing to rely on voter registration
organizations, political parties and individuals (all of whom have
their own agendas), with this legislation, the NYC council is taking on
the responsibility of creating clean and complete voter rolls.
Combining voter registration with high school graduation is an all
encompassing and comprehensive, yet simple and cost-effective means to
ensure every eligible citizen is registered. Over time, this
policy will lead to near 100% voter registration. Such a policy would reduce the need
for provisional ballots and decrease the likelihood of registration
processing errors made by overwhelmed election officials, inendated
with registration requests in the weeks leading up to Election Day. [Read the legislation]

City and town councils in every state and county in the nation should
pay careful attention to how successful this program is in New York.